Floyd Mayweather just announced he's set to make his MMA debut

Image credit: Instagram

Words by Brad Nash

November 6, 2018

Don't bet on a bout with Mcgregor anytime soon, though.

While most people assumed that if 50-0 boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. were ever going to step into an MMA Octagon, it would probably be in a rematch against Conor McGregor, 'Money'' clearly isn't that daft. Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo today, the boxer many call one of the greatest of all time has announced his intentions to make his MMA debut in Japan on New Year's Eve.

Mayweather, now 41, will be fighting in the RIZIN promotion — an MMA organisation run by many of those behind highly influential promotion PRIDE FC. PRIDE doesn't use strict MMA rules in all of its bouts, so it's unlikely that we'll be seeing Mayweather putting anyone in a kamora lock any time soon. Instead he'll be facing undefeated 27-0 kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, most likely with either Kickboxing or ordinary Boxing rules in place. RIZIN has dubbed it a ‘Super Challenge’ bout, and told viewers to "stay tuned" on any information about the bout's rules to come.

Tenshin last fought in a kickboxing win over Kyoji Horiguchi in the main event of RIZIN.13 at the end of September.

It's a light transition, we have to admit, but one that definitely opens Mayweather up for a more diverse fighting future. Mayweather also said that the deal marked the beginning of a business expansion into Japan.

‘I want to continue to build my relationship with Money Team Tokyo,’ he said. ‘I want to continue coming over here and bringing other fighters over here so my company can continue to grow and RIZIN can continue to grow. I would love to continue to work with RIZIN because RIZIN is an unbelievable company, and my company, we’ve been making some huge fights happen in the US, but we look forward to taking the Mayweather Promotions banner and the TMT banner worldwide. And if it takes working with a great guy like this, there’s no problem.’

For someone who's more than likely to step foot into a boxing match against one of the best ever to pull on a pair of gloves, the Japanese fighter seemed undeniably confident.

‘Nobody has defeated my opponent in the past, and I’d like to be the man who makes history,’ Tenshin said. ‘My punch can change history, and I’ll show that to you so please stay tuned.’